Killer Living Arrangements
by Only1ToniD
Summary: The loft looks like it's getting a new roommate. Wonder how that will go... This is just a short... so far.
1. Chapter 1: The New Roommate

Ben stood looking around him in a daze of disbelief. He'd only come to let her know he'd gotten a job in landscaping through the shelter, and to discuss paying her back for the lawyer. But now…

He glanced towards the closed door where Ciara had dragged her roommates, Tripp & Claire. He tensed & had to fight not to rush in once again at the sound of a high pitched, raised male voice. He was surprised he hadn't heard another whinier, even higher pitched voice rising periodically as well, but it seemed that the women could control themselves unlike the guy with them.

He just hoped Ciara was ok. She didn't deserve to be attacked because her big heart couldn't resist being kind to him. He closed his eyes as her face filled his mind. Kindness had been incredibly rare in his life so far, especially after he'd lost himself so completely that he'd become a serial killer. For most people, it seemed to reaffirm his unworthiness to be the recipient anything good. But not for Ciara.

She'd listened to him as he'd cared for her in the cabin and she had heard & believed him. Believed IN him. Aside from his doctors & his new boss, she seemed to be the only one. Her mother certainly didn't. He hadn't worked up the courage to reach out to Jordan yet so she was out. And neither of her roommates seemed inclined to give me a shot either. He sighed heavily at the thought.

Wanting to help Ciara & end the tension, he reached for his bag and headed for the door. "Where are you going?"

He turned to find those doe eyes trained on him. He'd been so deep inside his own head he hadn't heard the door open. It took him a long moment more to acknowledge the two people flanking her as she exited the bedroom. "I never wanted to be a problem for you so I was gonna head out."

"Ben, we've talked about this," Ciara replied rushing a bit unsteadily to his side. He instinctively reached out to help stabilize her. "You're not going anywhere. In fact, we took a vote & you'll be staying in Claire's old room since she commandeered Theo's when he left town."

He realized he had never dropped his hands from Ciara's body when suddenly she was pulled away from him. She stumbled, righted herself and put space between herself & Tripp with a frown at his aggressively possessive behavior.

Ben let his eyes bounce between the two before responding. "That's really nice, but are you sure? I don't want to be a burden."

Tripp scoffed, but before he could continue, Claire interjected. "Look, this situation is clearly not ideal, but if my Great Grandma trusts you & thinks you are safe—"

"Who?"

"Marlena," Ciara supplied. "And she's right. Unlike some who think they know best, Dr. Evans is a trained mental health professional. I trust her to be fair, unbiased, and ethical. And she says you're not responsible for the fire & she'll be helping you with your treatment. I know she can help people see how much you've changed."

"I can't tell you how much it means to have you believe in me," he said, focused intently on Ciara for a moment before remembering they aren't alone. "You, too, Claire. Before I got kicked out of the shelter, I got a job so I promise to help out."

"How about you save it for a down payment when you can afford to move out?" Tripp huffed resignedly.

"Exactly!" Claire chirped.

Ciara's face fell for a moment, but then she tossed Tripp a smile & a nod before returning her attention to Ben. "See! It's all settled."

"You… are very stubborn," Ben sighed, looking down. "And very sweet. And if you're sure—"

"We are," Ciara replies firmly causing Tripp to close his mouth with a huff.

"Then I guess it's settled," Ben agreed looking deep into Ciara's eyes. "Thank you. All of you."

"Follow me & I'll show you your new room." Ciara happily grabbed his hand & dragged him behind her despite her slight limp.

"Fuck!" Tripp snarled once Ciara was out of earshot.

Claire sidled up to him and rested her hand on his shoulder. "Are you ok?"

"Well, I don't know. I'm living with a serial killer now," Tripp hissed. "What do you think? And how could you vote to let him stay?!"

"I had to, Tripp," Claire swore, looking up at her target with sad, hopeful eyes. "Ben said it. Ciara is stubborn, and she can also be loyal to a fault. And the more we push her to turn her back on Ben, the more she feels the need to defend him & her friendship with him. It's already driving a wedge between her & her mom. It's also causing problems between you two from the looks of it. I just got her back in my life as my friend. I don't want to lose that again."

Tripp sighed & plopped down on the couch. "Fine," he grumbled. "I get not wanting to push her, but to say yes to him staying here?"

"She was on the verge of leaving with him, Tripp!" Claire sat next to the other blonde taking his hand. "She threatened to move out & use her trust to get them an apartment. What was I supposed to do?"

"She was bluffing!"

"Was she?" Claire asked. "Didn't sound like it to me. I have known Ciara my whole life. She can be incredibly kind & loyal, but she's also incredibly stubborn. If she feels like Ben is a victim of circumstances & she is the only one who will stand up for him, she won't hesitate to do it. Just like with—"

"Just like with what?" Claire clammed up & looked away. Tripp turned to her, gently grasped her chin, and turned her back to him. "You can tell me. Just like with what?"

"Just like with Chase," Claire finally admitted. "His Dad was a total psycho & it messed him up pretty bad when it all came out. But Ciara stood by him & stuck up for him." Claire paused to look down at their clasped hands. "Even when he started getting into trouble. She only saw the good in him. She just thought he was troubled & needed support. Chase mistook her kindness for something else and—"

"I get it," Tripp huffed, running his hand through this blonde locks. "Then you did the right thing. At least this way, we can be there for her & protect her."

"Exactly."

"This is touching," Ciara said, standing near the entryway staring at them in their apparently intimate moment on the same couch she found them almost having sex on. They jerked away from each other & looked up to find Ciara looking hurt & angry as Ben had placed comforting hands on her shoulders. "Let me guess. More news about your dad?"

"W-we were just talking," Tripp stuttered, as he jumped up putting more distance between himself and Claire.

"Uh-huh," Ciara said glaring at them. She spun around suddenly to look up at Ben. "Like I said, there are extra towels in the hall closet over there so enjoy your shower. I'm going to call it a night."

"Ciara—"

"If you need to talk," Ben whispered just loud enough to be heard by everyone, "you know—"

"I know. Now go clean off that—" she waved her hand in his direction.

"Funk?" Ben replied with a conspiratorial smirk, earning himself a light laugh.

"Yeah," she chuckled. "Good night."

"It's getting late, so I think I'll turn in now, too." Claire added hurrying off to her room. "Nite, guys!"

Ciara moved toward her room when Tripp stopped her. "Ciara—"

"Good night, Tripp," she said with finality as she slammed the door in his face.

Tripp turned to unleash his frustrations on his new roommate just in time to see the bathroom door close as well.


	2. Chapter 2: Late Night Reveals

Ben was halfway through his shower when he realized that in his urgency to avoid the looming confrontation with Tripp, he forgot to grab a change of clothes. But he figured with everyone gone to bed he should be fine this once. Not that he was remotely ashamed of showing his body. He just didn't want to make Ciara or Claire uncomfortable. In fact, he'd always taken pride in his body & gone the extra mile to maintain his physique.

Some might even say he was a bit obsessive, but it was the one thing he could always control & after the pain & fear of his childhood, he refused to ever let himself be that defenseless again. He used to box to clear his head, but that was before things went so wrong with Abby. Part of him wished he could go back to it, but with his past, boxing might not be the best way to convince people he'd changed. Maybe he could take some kind of martial arts instead. They said it was good for discipline, and ever a person needed a disciplined mind it was him.

"Really?" a voice huffed out of the darkness moments before a lamp came on in the living room. "You think you don't have to wear clothes now?"

Ben startled & turned to face his new if reluctant roommate. "I forgot to grab a change of clothes in my rush to get clean." He waited a beat. "This place has great water pressure."

"Well, don't make a habit of it," Tripp replied with disgust. "We don't need you making the girls any more uncomfortable."

"I don't plan to," Ben swore. "I'll just head to bed & be out early tomorrow. I've got my first day at work and I probably won't be back until late."

"I wish you wouldn't be back at all," Tripp grumbled.

Ben huffed a sigh. He figured he might as well deal with this now because he likely wouldn't have the energy after a long day landscaping. "Look, I know you would rather I not be here. I even respect you for wanting to protect the girls from me, but whether you believe it or not, you don't need to worry about me. Ciara is my friend and I would never hurt her. So I'm gonna just going to go to work every day so I can save up & find my own place as soon as possible. With the hours I'll be pulling for this job, you probably won't even know I'm here. Ok?"

Tripp seemed to try to bite his tongue & fail. "You know what? No, it is NOT ok. None of this is ok," he growled. "You kidnapped Ciara and tricked her into thinking you're her friend only to go off your meds scare her and try to burn her alive in that cabin. You don't belong anywhere NEAR her, and I will protect her this time."

"I did NOT kidnap her," Ben gritted out. "I found her with a dead cell phone on a blind turn in the road in the middle of nowhere late at night. I had no car or cell phone or charger so I carried her in my arms to the first shelter I could find and I took care of her. She didn't want to stay alone with a reformed serial killer because of ME. She didn't want to face the bastard who couldn't wait to get his dick wet with her friend because she wasn't ready. You can't blame me for that." Ben took a deep breath to calm himself. "And we did get close. We talked. We vented. We became friends. And nothing you say or do is going to change that. If she needs me, she knows I will always be there no matter what."

Finally losing his temper, Tripp yelled, "You need to back off! You think you & Ci are so close, but it's not like what we have."

Sick of this kid's jealous temper tantrum, Ben can't resist poking at him. "Oh, I don't just think it. I know we're close. I even know about that spot that drives her wild. Do you?"

Tripp sees red & lunges for Ben, just as Ciara opens her door in search of a late night snack. "What the hell are you doing, Tripp? What's going on?"

Tripp manages to pull back from is attack before he inadvertently hit Ciara. Not that he would have anyway as Ben's reflexes were quick enough to pull her out of harms way. "Ciara-"

"Are you really trying to attack Ben?" she demanded. "Tripp, I thought you were better than this. We voted he's staying. That does not give you the right to pick fights or attack him!"

"You didn't here what he said."

"Oh?" Ciara turned to Ben.

Ben sighed and looked down. "I just told him we got close in the cabin, became friends. He didn't want to believe it so I might have mentioned how you're ticklish."

She chuckled shaking her head at him. "Ben!"

"What? It was the first thing that popped in my head."

Rolling her eyes at him, she turned back to Tripp who was fuming. "So you accost him on his way to his room from taking a shower to somehow prove he isn't my friend, & then nearly attack him because he is? What is wrong with you? Ben IS my friend, and we DID get close in the cabin. How many times do I have to tell you he SAVED MY LIFE and took care of me! He did NOT force me to stay against my will & he did NOT set that fire! So leave him alone!"

Ben couldn't help but smirk from behind Ciara as Tripp stood fuming yet trying to seem repentant toward Ciara. "What's going out here?" Claire demanded, rubbing her eyes until she saw Ben standing in nothing but his towel. "Holy shit!"

"Ok, I definitely need to put some clothes on," Ben sighed.

"Don't bother on my account," Claire quipped, still staring.

"Seriously?!" Tripp burst out.

"What?! He may be a psycho, but this psycho's hot & I've got eyes! As long as I'm stuck living with him, there might as well be something good about it."

"You should try his pancakes," Ciara chirped.

"But not my carrots."

"I'm sure we have ketchup around here somewhere," Ciara teased looking up at him as she elbowed him.

However, he had his hands in his hair so there was no defense when his towel fell. "Fuck!"

"Oh, god!" Tripp gasped.

"Wow!" Claire breathed, eyes trained.

"Uh-huh," Ciara agreed before she snapped out of it, turning away & standing in front of him as Ben rushed to grab his towel and cover up.

"I'm gonna head to bed and get some clothes on," Ben said demurely. "As I was telling Tripp, I start my new job so I'll be gone before sunrise & won't be back until dark. Good night."

Ciara couldn't resist peaking as he rushed off towards his room. A throat cleared & Ciara turned back around to face Tripp with wide eyes. "Um, I'm gonna call it a night. Sweet dreams."

"More like wet dreams," Claire quipped, under her breath, as Ciara slipped back into her room.

"Claire!"

"What?! You don't want me so I'm single. And I have eyes. Just because I wouldn't let him touch me with a ten-foot pole doesn't mean my eyes stopped working! Good night, Tripp."


End file.
